He’s old friends with weed, painkillers, heroin and their sometime companion, psychosis.

It was a harrowing ride from junior high in suburban Atlanta to college for this former defensive end at the University of Richmond. He went into and out of rehab, struggled to overcome — only to be pulled back into a deadly embrace — saw friends come and go and leave forever.

This is the first of three short videos posting this week to the JJIE we are calling Adam’s Story, a remembrance in his voice of that awful journey. It is part of a much broader series of videos and stories we are doing this year on the subject of substance use prevention with support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

[SPOILER ALERT] Today, he helps counsel patients at the Ridgeview Institute rehabilitation center in the Atlanta area, moonlights playing guitar with his band The Dry Devils and in his spare, spare time, throws his wisdom at young people via social media.